Month: October 2016

Generally regarded as being one of the last great masters of ukiyo-e art – “pictures of the floating world” captured in hanging scrolls, woodblock prints and paintings- Tsukioka Yoshitoshi is one of the boldest and most celebrated Japanese artists of the last 200 years. In a tumultuous career in which the artist was well-acquainted with both relative fame as well as crushing obscurity, Yoshitoshi navigated loss, mental illness, and poverty in order to produce works that preserved the rich and vivid tradition of woodblock printing against the encroaching western techniques of ‘modernity’. Prolific, yet met with just as much ambivalence as acclaim, Yoshitoshi’s work has slowly but surely established itself as canonical in the ukiyo-e genre; indeed many modern critics claim that his vision and creativity was instrumental in imparting ukiyo-e with “one last burst of glory”.

Time and time again, Adam Curtis has demonstrated an inimitable ability to delve into the heart of an issue – be it the manufactured and simplified story of militant islam as espoused by western powers in Bitter Lake, or the failure to harness the utopian potential of early technology in All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace – and sketch out the complex histories, mechanisms and important figures that underpin these particularly postmodern narratives. HyperNormalisation, which was released on BBC iPlayer on Sunday night, is Curtis’ latest attempt to trace the multifaceted malaise that seems to pervade overstimulated life in the 21st century.

When he’s not chasing dogs around the park or changing tyres in record time, Benzo is doing something awesome on his skateboard. Peep the 6 Tricks he threw down for us and you’ll see why everyone loves skating with Ben; not only does he absolutely shred, but he has that goofy enthusiasm and unbridled energy that makes every session better.

The days of late September and early October have seemingly blessed us with , whilst perhaps not an avalanche, certainly a barrage of new albums to get stuck in to. Big tracks from the studio offerings of Solange, Isaiah Rashad and Bon Iver dominate our playlist this week, and for good reason too; the albums are fucking awesome. Have a gander at the eclectic mix of sounds below and see if you dig our selections.

If you follow skateboarding with even the most passing of interests, you probably caught Reda’s recent documentary ‘Brian Anderson on Being a Gay Professional Skateboarder’. Even if you don’t particularly follow skateboarding, news of BA’s coming out has clearly transcended the boundaries of the industry with news outlets such as The Guardian, Rolling Stone and the NY Times all reporting on the recent events. Considering the depth of passion that skateboarders have for their culture, the importance and increasing prominence of the LGBTQIA movement, and also the radness of BA and his stellar career, it’s no surprise that the documentary (which you can peep below, for context) has sparked important conversations in skateparks, and skateshops across the globe. It’s no different for us here at THE6BY6, so we’ve decided to throw our six cents out there and reflect on the many reasons why Brian Anderson’s coming out is important for the culture, industry and future of skateboarding.